Tommy Russo
Tommy Russo is the CEO of Lorein Multinational, and an executive within the Hunter conspiracy Cheiron Group. Surviving the attempt on his life by the Castiglione family with multiple injuries, he fled into FBI protection, and would eventually return to New York as the leading force of Cheiron's expansion into the city. In this role, he would serve as a major antagonist within New York storylines, as well as to his brother, Trevor Russo. Eventually, Tommy and the Cheiron Group were the driving force behind Providence Now (often called "the Conspiracy"), who served as the primary antagonistic force throughout multiple storylines. Character Biography Pre-Bombing Thomas Delano Russo was the middle child of the Russo family, having been born three years after his older brother Trevor. Throughout his childhood, he would develop a rivalry with his brother, vying for the attention of his parents. He proved himself to be much more clever and academically gifted than Trevor, and yet would develop a fear that Trevor was still perceived as the superior brother due to Trevor's charisma making him more popular in school. The difference in this popularity was not actually that great, but it ultimately fueled an inferiority complex within Tommy, as well as his hatred for Trevor. This complex melded with Tommy's ego, leading to an obsessive drive to not only prove he was better than Trevor, but better than everyone. This drive would eventually lead him to be more responsible with the opportunities that were offered by his parents, as Trevor proved to be too immature to help run Oakwood Industrial. Tommy had been preparing for a role in the company, but once his parents sent Trevor to join the military, Tommy decided he too would join the armed forces. While Trevor would gain his first experience with the supernatural while in Task Force: VALKYRIE, Tommy joined the traditional U.S. Army. He would ultimately spend several years with the military, where he would ultimately be awarded the Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart for his role in saving the lives of seven other men ambushed in an attack. The injuries he sustained to his arms, torso, and legs would end up causing him lasting pain throughout his life, and he would be honorably discharged soon after. After his return to New York, he immediately began assuming duties in Oakwood Industrial. While his quick rise in the company was originally thought to nepotism, that reputation was almost immediately dispelled as the organizational and business prowess he demonstrated led to a rapid expansion into Mexico and the UK. Soon after his rise in the company, Trevor would return from his time in the armed forces as well, and begin his time at Oakwood at well. While this did greatly annoy Tommy, he enjoyed the idea that he would soon be Trevor's superior in the company. These plans were derailed however, when on Christmas Day of that year, a bomb went off in the Russo home. Tommy was seemingly the only person to survive, but his left eye had been gouged out by shrapnel, and he was bleeding from multiple cuts. Despite his condition, he desperately searched the bottom level of the house for his parents and sister, all of which he found dead. Surprisingly, he tried to go to the second floor to find Trevor, but the stairs had been destroyed by the bomb, and so he had to flee the house. He immediately went to the police, who recognized the bombing was done by the Castiglione family, and he was put into witness protection. Climbing the Corporate Ladder While under witness protection, Tommy took on the name of "Tristan Duran" and began living in Texas. He applied for work at an oil refinery, and was accepted. Upon joining, however, he learned the oil refinery was more than it seemed. The company, "Lorein Petroleum", was actually a subsidiary of the Cheiron Group. It was the officials of Cheiron who had wanted to hire Tommy, and they revealed to him that the Castiglione's were more than mere men. Tommy was told that the Castiglione's were vampires, and that it was Cheiron's business to destroy evil entities such as them. Recognizing his previous experience in business, they offered to immediately make him the CEO of Lorein, and to join their crusade against darkness. Tommy, still enraged by what the Castiglione family did, accepted immediately. Cheiron introduced him to the supernatural slowly, but steadily. Tommy was given a group of scientists to supervise and observe, as they dissected specimens they brought in. This process originally made Tommy nautious, but as he continued to observe he grew desensitized to it, eventually even finding it fascinating. His drive to be the best took over early on in his new career, as he did everything he could to increase the influence Cheiron had in Texas, using multiple Hunter cells and other groups involved in the supernatural as proxies to further Cheiron's goals. This rapid expansion once again proved how much of an asset Tommy was, and he was soon able to secure a chance to return to New York and destroy the Castiglione family. Shortly before leaving Texas, Lorein Petroleum was renamed to "Lorein Multinational". Darker shades of Tommy's personality began to emerge during his early time with Cheiron as well. He was assigned to work with Emmanuel Alvarez, another high-ranking Cheiron official, who would help guide him in his transition into Cheiron. However, Emmanuel was showing signs of "going Bateman" (a Cheiron term for executives beginning to show signs of becoming a Slasher). Tommy, seeing an opportunity to exploit the rumored powers of Slashers, set up a scenario where Alvarez had to fight for his life against multiple captured, humanoid creatures, only giving him an ax to defend himself. In spite of the odds, Alvarez killed all of the creatures, but the experience left him even colder and more detached. His transformation into a Slasher had been completed, but at the cost of most of the social skills Alvarez had developed during his life. Since that experience, Tommy began using Alvarez as muscle for himself and any missions he needed completed with violence. New King of New York Upon returning to New York, Tommy revealed his true identity to the world, becoming the subject of a media craze. His status as a war hero, and the fact that no one had known what happened to his body, led to massive amounts of coverage on his return, especially with him being the CEO of a obscure, yet incredibly well-financed company like Lorein Multinational. When he learned that Trevor was alive, however, his focus shifted from the Castiglione's to his brother. While he was initially happy he was alive, his happiness deteriorated into bitter hatred once again when he learned that Trevor had taken over as the CEO of Oakwood Industrial. While he still was plotting to destroy the Castiglione's, Tommy was now infatuated with the idea of taking over Oakwood Industrial and turning it into a subsidiary of the Cheiron Group. To accomplish his new goal, Tommy began sending corporate spies into Oakwood, slowly gaining power. Meanwhile, Tommy would use Cheiron cells to take the fight to the Castiglione's, going so far as to interrupt Trevor mid-fight to help him. However, after each victory he won over the Castiglione's, Tommy would contact Trevor, letting him know that it was him who would be defeating the Castiglione's. While Trevor initially did not mind Tommy's help, as unwanted as it was, he soon began to grow angry as Tommy's agents killed men before Trevor could. As Trevor was becoming a Slasher, he could not tolerate the lack of bodies he was leaving, and began to grow unstable. This instability was just what Tommy counted on. As Trevor became more and more desperate to continue his trail of destruction, his already minimal appearances with Oakwood Industrial grew almost nonexistent. This drew the ire of the board at Oakwood, and led to Tommy approaching them with an offer to replace Trevor. Many people within the company remembered the promise Tommy had shown during his earlier tenure with the company and supported his idea. Those who didn't were ultimately persuaded either with bribery or blackmail, and Tommy eventually gained the support of all members of the board at Oakwood. Tommy would eventually stop interfering with Trevor's mission, and Trevor was able to calm down from his temporary madness. However, Tommy would confront him immediately afterwords, using his speed to beat Trevor down until he could not walk. He then chained Trevor to a nearby pipe in the warehouse they were in, as his disappearance would make it easier to continue his takeover of Oakwood. Tommy would then leave Trevor there. Trevor would escape about 22 hours later, however, and come after Tommy. However, he would learn that the merger between Lorein Multinational and Oakwood Industrial was already underway. This merger had drawn the attention of Castiglione capo Luis Galletti, however, who came after Tommy. Tommy would fight Galletti and his men off, and tracked Galletti down to his home. Tommy, excited to finally take out some vengeance on one of the men who killed his family, was able to keep Luis down as he tortured the vampire. To damage what was left of Luis' humanity even further, Tommy went as far as torturing his wife in front of him. This was ultimately ended after Trevor found Tommy doing this, and chased him off. Trevor would however shoot Luis after forcing Tommy to flee, killing him. Upon returning to Oakwood, Tommy was helping prepare for the merger, until Trevor returned and spoke to the board. During the discussion, an intense argument sparked between the brothers. In the argument, Tommy became so enraged that he accidentally revealed his plans to turn Oakwood into a subsidiary of a conglomerate. This revelation angered the board, who turned on Tommy's ambitions, and terminated the merger deal immediately. Tommy stormed out, swearing revenge on his brother. While his plan to take Oakwood Industrial failed, Tommy set up solid roots for Lorein Multinational in New York, acting as competition to Oakwood. Meanwhile, he continued overseeing operations to destroy supernatural forces and harvest any parts they could get. Leading Providence Now After months of establishing Cheiron's authority in New York's hunter circles, Tommy learned of a California-based secret society known as Utopia Now. Utopia Now's goal revolved around creatures known as "demons". However, from the way the demons in question were described, they seemed very different from demonic entities previously encountered by the Cheiron Group. Visiting many of the group's members, and immediately offering to purchase their companies. Many agreed, though some needed threats of violence to be persuaded. Eventually, all participating companies had been bought out aside from that of Utopia Now's founder, William Horn. William, an idealist clinging to his dream of a society powered by demonic infrastructure, refused to give in, leading to Tommy snapping his neck. After going through Horn's files, and receiving items from other Utopia Now members, Tommy obtained a relic known as the "Broken Chain Beacon", which could be used to locate demons. Upon taking the device back to New York, the beacon immediately discovered a "ring" of demons operating in the city. This discovery came at the worst possible time for the demons, as a demon by the name of Bruce Davenport had just stolen two items from an angel operating nearby. One was a piece of angelic infrastructure (known as an "operation book"), and a list of exploitable supernatural groups that the angels intended to use to their advantage. Tommy pounced on his chance to take in a demon, using his agents to capture Davenport without the demon even being able to put up a fight. Upon Davenport's incarceration, he was tortured heavily until he was eventually forced to reveal what was inside the two relics, as they were written in a language Tommy could not read. This reading by the demon revealed the existence of the God-Machine. A nearly all-powerful being that spawned angels and demons, and sought to edge the world toward unknown goals. This revelation excited Tommy greatly, and he ordered the immediately disassembly of Bruce to harvest his parts. After learning of the groups that the God-Machine had planned to exploit, Tommy got an idea. He would use as many of those groups as he could to do the bidding of the Cheiron Group, and Tommy would use the combined might of these groups to destroy the God-Machine and claim it's power for his own. The Board of Director's completely supported his plan (though this may have been another attempt to kill Tommy), and allowed him to resign his duties in New York to another operator. This new goal lit a fire within Tommy, and he began recruiting people who were on the angel's list to his cause, forming a group known as "Providence Now". He was eventually able to recruit multiple members of the rogue mage group "Seers of the Throne" (such as a mage known as O'Brien), a changeling leader from Oregon named Declan Vaughn, Alexander Hite (the leader of mage-slaying hunter group the "Promethean Brotherhood"), a blood-bather who led a wealthy cult named Eliza Davidson, a mummy by the name of Namurot, and mage hitman "Pale Horse". With the connections brought by these recruits, Providence Now immediately became the most powerful group in the World of Darkness setting. Tommy took particular interest in Eliza, as Remy had analyzed her beforehand (as well as doing research on her), and come to the conclusion that she was immensely lonely despite having a cult that worships her, and that she craved some form of genuine connection in her life. When Tommy met with her, he immediately began revealing just how much he knew about her, and how he wanted to bring her on board not as a subordinate, but as an equal. Eliza, desperate for the kind of connection Tommy was implying, jumped at the chance to join him. The two would do much of their "planning" together (though the planning was only ever things he planned to tell the entire group, in a ploy to make Eliza feel valued), and eventually even became lovers. Meanwhile, Tommy was convincing her to transfer her wealth to him, under the guise of "aiding Providence Now". However, due to the power of this group, it drew attention from the enemies of those recruited. Elizabeth McAvoy, an enemy of Declan Vaughn, was immediately suspicious when Declan opted to transfer his seasonal power to another member of the Winter Court. After contacting a clairvoyant by the name of Laurie O'Beara, it was revealed that Declan had joined with a group of other supernatural beings to work towards an important goal. When the names and descriptions were revealed by Laurie, Elizabeth went off to find their enemies to help stop them. Tommy began using his new resources to harvest or destroy any infrastructure created by the God-Machine that they could find. With multiple mages working under him, it became far easier to discover group and places being manipulated by the God-Machine, and after interrogating enough captured cultists of the God-Machine, he learned of a place where he could access the God-Machine directly. However, before he could go there, he had to deal with the failings of some of those who worked for him. Alexander Hite had been captured by the new group trying to stop him, and had been imprisoned by members of the Guardians of the Veil. Eventually, Tommy was able to track him down, and rather than killing him for his failure, he mocked the hunter for his failures. Tommy venomously mocked Hite for being a powerless fool desperately trying to gain the powers of mages, and left Hite to rot. He also visited Namurot, who had failed to keep harvested infrastructure safe from their enemies. Namurot attempted to kill Tommy by using his cult to outnumber him, but Tommy's speed made up for the difference, and he singlehandedly dispatched of Namurot's cult, before killing Namurot and ordering that his parts be harvested. As he was preparing to travel to the Temple of Machinations, he was confronted by O'Brien. O'Brien, who planned to claim the God-Machine's power for the Seers of the Throne, began harassing Tommy with claims that he was nothing compared to his brother. Tommy, never having mentioned his brother to the members of Providence Now, was enraged that O'Brien had began digging into his life, but he was cut off with further humiliation by O'Brien. O'Brien claimed that even if he were able to obtain the God-Machine's power, he would do nothing with it because he would be completely inept. O'Brien's words were charged with magical power, psychically cutting Tommy. Tommy suffered a breakdown from this, and O'Brien began making plans to get to the Temple before Tommy could. Before he could leave the building, however, Tommy was able to whisper into his communication link with Alvarez an order to kill O'Brien. As soon as O'Brien entered his office, he was hacked to death by Alvarez's ax. After recovering from O'Brien's assault, Tommy went met with Eliza. He embraced her, explaining that the "time had finally come". However, as Eliza leaned in to kiss him, Tommy stabbed her in the chest. Pushing her to the floor, he callously stated that she disgusted him, and that she reminded him far too much of the people he wants to destroy (referring to the vampires who had killed his parents and sister). Before she could even ask what he meant, he shot her in the head. Tommy then went to the Temple alongside Alvarez, Declan, and Pale Horse. He ordered Pale Horse and Alvarez to kill the cultists inside and destroy the barriers leading to the inner sanctum. Providence Now was then ambushed by McAvoy's group, and a clash ensued. Pale Horse and his enemy Deadeye focused on each other throughout the battle, with Deadeye eventually mortally wounding Pale Horse. Meanwhile, McAvoy fell to Declan Vaughn, but was spared death by Trevor shooting Vaughn. Alvarez defeated the changeling Quentin Fairway and a hunter named Joseph Crossman, but was defeated by an exiled angel named Kurt Wayland. Tommy, being the final man left, having defeated the demon Damien Dumaine and McAvoy, was barely standing, but was prepared to fight off Kurt, Trevor, and Deadeye, but he was struck by an unexpected lightning bolt. Alexander Hite, who had escaped from his incarceration and followed McAvoy's group to the Temple, had used part of his remaining power to strike Tommy, and he immediately dashed into the inner sanctum, attempting to claim the God-Machine's powers for his own. During the final battle between Trevor, Kurt and Deadeye against Hite, Tommy was struck by a shard of the sanctum, becoming a stigmatic in the process. This minor transformation woke him up, and to he escaped with Alvarez, leaving Declan and Pale Horse behind. After the defeat of Providence Now, Tommy decided that he would eventually claim the power of the God-Machine, once he was able to gather the proper resources once again. He knew that McAvoy's group had destroyed the Temple, and that he had made enemies of the Seers of the Throne. With that in mind, he decided it would be best to lie low until he could once again rise to gain the power he believed he deserved. Appearance and Personality Tommy is the only one of the Russo siblings to have inherited his mother's looks, with his hair being black, and appearing with a slightly darker complexion. However, like his other siblings, he has his father's ice blue eyes. He is around six feet tall, and he has a lean physique. As a businessman, he is fond of formal and business attire, and he always wears an eye-patch over his left eye. Tommy's life has been defined by his need to be better than his brother, as well as everyone else. His drive and determination are unmatched, and when he sets his sights on a goal, he is laser focused. However, he can be petty and vengeful, frequently taking time out of his schedule to harm those who have crossed him in the past. He is also capable of being ruthless to those who do not do what he wants, as he is willing to crush anyone who stands in the way between himself and a goal. Despite Tommy's desire to be better than everyone, and his occasionally vitriolic personality, he has a deep-seated respect for authority, which was instilled by his respect for his father. Tommy's ultimate goal in life is to join the Board of Directors of the Cheiron Group, and he is completely legitimate in the loyalty he has towards them. He has also been known to develop respect for those he feels have earned it, such as Remy St. Paul. He has been shown to not be completely heartless, as he has been shown to have emotional attachment of some people. For example, when he learned that his sister was alive, he immediately began to cry tears of joy, and held her tightly. He also has denied enacting plans he deems too vile, such as needlessly tormenting more human supernatural beings such as mages. While he is also power-hungry and egocentric, part of him also believes in the altruistic side of his plans. Part of him truly operates out of a desire to ensure that supernatural beings never destroy lives like they destroyed his. This inner goodness (if you can call it that) is always struggling against his ego and pride, leaving Tommy with deep insecurities and questions about where he lies regarding good or evil. While he puts on a facade as though these questions do not affect him, they actually take quite the toll on him. While most characters in Acolytes of Sin write Tommy off as a conniving, soulless, ego maniacal sociopath, it is important to note that Tommy, much like many of his enemies, is a victim. Cheiron uses his drive and flexible morality as fuel for their own ends. His excellent planning and execution of schemes make him an invaluable asset, but he will never be able to join the Board of Directors. The Directors are actually inhuman creatures that no Cheiron employee has ever physically seen, and not even Tommy is aware of this. With his desire to join them being so intense, they have actually attempted to assign him missions that will end in his death, as they are running out of excuses to not let him join the Board. Tommy is being used as a tool of inhuman manipulators that if he truly knew, he would despise, and he has no idea. Personal Statistics Alignment: Lawful Neutral Name: Thomas Delano Russo Origin: Acolytes of Sin (Villainousverse) Gender: Male Age: 29 Classification: Human Date of Birth: January 13 Zodiac/Horoscope: Capricorn Birthplace: New York City, New York Weight: 170 Ibs Height: 6’0” Likes: Dislikes: Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Black Hobbies: Values: Martial Status: Single Status: Alive (Active) Affiliation: Cheiron Group, Lorein Multinational Previous Affiliation: U.S. Military Themes: Money - I Fight Dragons Combat Statistics Tiers: High 8-C Powers and Abilities: *'Superhuman Condition '- Due to various surgeries by Cheiron doctors, Tommy is more durable than the average person, and he has incredible speed. *Vampire Detection - With use of the "Anger Patch" on the back of his neck, he can always tells when vampires are nearby. *Mind Manipulation - With use of his "Evil Eye", Tommy can hypnotize victims. While he cannot force them to do anything outright suicidal, he has been able to mitigate this limitation with creative wording in the past. *Anti-Magic - By using his "Agonizer" bug, he can inflict intense pain while using the bug to consume any magic used by the target. *Psychic Resistance - After becoming a stigmatic by being exposed to a shard of the God-Machine, Tommy became immune to complex scrying by other beings. While basic forms of psychic abilities, such as lie-detection and aura reading, still work, attempting locate Tommy's location, see or feel through his senses, read or manipulate his mind, or determine his future, all immediately fail. *Shifting Consequences - A demonic "embed" he gained from becoming a stigmatic, Tommy is able to transfer negative effects such as harm, humiliation, and misfortune from one being to another. As a demonic embed wielded by a non-demon, reality glitches when he uses this ability. *Newton's Nightmares - A demonic "exploit" he gained from becoming a stigmatic, Tommy is able to amplify, reduce, or redirect the effects of gravity, friction or inertia. Attack Potency: Up to Large Building Level depending on his speed (has been able to puncture Werewolves, steel-skinned Changelings, and certain pieces of God-Machine infrastructure with physical hits). Speed: High Hypersonic+ (easily dodges bullets, has dodged lightning spells from mages). Lifting Strength: Street Level Striking Strength: Up to Large Building Level Durability: Street Level Stamina: Superhuman (runs at incredible speeds for prolonged periods of time). Range: Standard Melee Range Standard Equipment: Pistol, taser. Intelligence: Tommy is regarded as a genius, with high academic scores and an uncanny ability to mobilize and manipulate groups into doing what he wants. He was able to group together multiple supernatural groups with differing agendas into Providence Now, for example. Weaknesses: *Pride - Tommy's primary vice is pride, and his ego is massive. He cannot comprehend someone being able to win a final victory over him, and in the event that they do, he will justify it to himself by thinking up some new scheme to get revenge on whoever defeated him. While he has grown somewhat resistant to the trick, one can stroke his ego to lower his defenses. *Inferiority Complex - Throughout his life, Tommy's success has come from his dedication to proving he is superior to Trevor. This drive is brought on by Tommy's belief that on some level, everyone believes that he is inferior to Trevor in every way. When faced with this fact, it clashes with his ego, causing lots of emotional distress. O'Brien ultimately used this to temporarily incapacitate Tommy, though he was eventually murdered by Alavrez on Tommy's orders for doing it. *Still Human - While he has been enhanced with Cheiron's surgeries, he is still ultimately human, and has the same weaknesses. Feats: Notable Attacks/Techniques: *Power Strikes - Tommy hits an opponent at incredible speeds, possibly decimating their body. *Target Practice - Using his gravity manipulation, Tommy halts a target, then lays into them with various attacks *Whites of their Eyes - Tommy will occasionally attempt to immediately end hostilities by dashing up to an opponent and attempting to hypnotize them with his Evil Eye. * Key: Post-Providence Now Note: Other Notable Victories: - Notable Losses: - Inconclusive Matches: - Category:Characters Category:Original Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Villainous Vulture Characters Category:Humans Category:Hunters Category:Speedsters Category:Gun Users Category:Gravity Users Category:Mind Manipulators